


Three Hours

by justsomebucky



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cheesy, F/M, Fluff, I'm a space nerd so have some romantic meteorites, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 14:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14620415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justsomebucky/pseuds/justsomebucky
Summary: AU. A three-hour drive to the middle of nowhere with your boyfriend Bucky doesn’t end the way you expected.





	Three Hours

**Author's Note:**

> Writing challenge prompt is in bold.

You didn’t question your boyfriend of two years when he said he needed you to drive him three hours from the city. You didn’t inquire as to what could be so important that you leave as the sun was beginning to set. You didn’t ask why he couldn’t drive himself.   
  
You trusted him. He wouldn’t have brought it up if it wasn’t important to him, if he didn’t need you, and that was a good enough reason for you to hop in your car. You could do this small favor for someone you loved so much.

He’d been nervous all day, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. Maybe it had to do with this drive, though a quick glance told you his anxiety hadn’t lessened yet.

It was really strange for him to have this sort of energy since he was normally a pretty calm guy.

As he sat staring at the map on his phone, watching as the little GPS tracker showed your progress, you wondered what this was really about.

Was he in trouble?

No, that couldn’t be it. Bucky Barnes wasn’t really the type to start trouble. While his best friend Steve seemed to find it with ease, Bucky tried to stay away from it unless someone really needed him.

What could it be?

You didn’t realize you were frowning at the road ahead until he mentioned it.

“What’s wrong? Do you want me to drive?”

“I’m fine,” you insisted, switching hands on the wheel. “Put on some music or something, please.” 

You didn’t want to hear your own thoughts anymore.

In your periphery, you saw him watch you carefully for a few seconds before he complied, switching to a station that played pop music.

“That?” he asked, hand paused over the buttons.

“Something a little less perky would be better.”

Bucky hummed at you, then switched it to an oldies station. A sweet melody filled your ears, and you smiled faintly.

“Thank you.”

—

Your car was the only one on that particular stretch of road at that hour, so you kept your high beams on to cast off the darkness. At this point you were just glad that no animals had decided to make an unexpected appearance in your path.

When you failed to stifle a yawn, you heard Bucky shift in his seat. He hadn’t looked at his phone or said anything for so long that you had assumed he’d fallen asleep.

“Doing okay, doll?”

“I’m all right. Are we almost there?”

“Almost.” Out came the phone map again. “Another half-hour or so.”

Questions were on the tip of your tongue: _why are we out here in the dark? What is going on? Are you in trouble? Could you at least give me a hint, here?_

Still, you said nothing, letting the sound of doo-wop groups of old distract you for the time being.

—

Your muscles were stiff by the time Bucky instructed you to take exit twenty-one down a winding road to a lot on the edge of a wooded area. You parked and shut the engine off before turning to him to see if you could finally get some answers.

“Are you gonna explain this? I mean, it’s just gotten a little weird, Buck.”

“It’ll be self-explanatory soon enough.”

“You didn’t make me drive out here to murder me, did you?”

Bucky made a face at you. “Hilarious. No, I asked you to drive so I could navigate. Pop the trunk, would ya?”

He must have packed ahead of time, because you didn’t know he brought a blanket and an actual picnic basket. You also didn’t know they still made picnic baskets like that because you’d only ever seen them on TV.

His arms were full, so you reached out to close the trunk before grabbing the blanket to carry.

“ **This is why you made me drive three hours out into the middle of nowhere?** So we could have a night picnic in the dark scary woods while bears try to maul us?”

“No,” he huffed out, turning away from you toward the wooded area where a small path was lined with solar lights. “We are not here to be eaten by bears or anything else.”

You hurried to keep up. “You could have told me you wanted to go camping. I would have made sure we were all set with a nice tent, and-“

“We aren’t camping, Y/N,” he interrupted. “Just follow me.”

The air was still warm even though the sun had gone down a while ago, and for that you were grateful. Since you had no clue where you were headed, you didn’t think to bring a jacket or anything.

And really, who would have assumed that city boy Bucky Barnes would want to park himself in the middle of some trees? He was getting older, maybe he was having an identity crisis. Maybe Sam told him he went camping or hiking and bragged about it enough that Bucky felt obligated to go too.

Either way, you found yourself in the middle of a clearing, watching as Bucky took the blanket from your hands and unfurled it over the soft grass. When everything else was in place, he sat down on the blanket and patted the spot next to him. Reluctantly, you sat down cross-legged.

Yeah, you were definitely going to be eaten by a bear.

“We could have picnicked on the roof of our building, you know,” you pointed out, glancing around as your eyes finally adjusted to the dark.

There were fireflies all around you, offering a light show for free.

Bucky nudged you. “That’s something you couldn’t see from the roof of our building.”

His voice was so soft, so different than normal that you turned to look at him in question. His eyes held a faraway look, like that moment was something he’d been hoping would happen for a while now.

That’s what got you, that look of wonder in his normally stormy blue eyes. He’d grown up in the city and didn’t really get to experience this sort of thing very often.

And besides, any time spent with him was worth it, no matter the setting.

You laid back on the blanket and nearly gasped at the sight of a million stars twinkling above. You had been so focused on Bucky and your own thoughts that you didn’t even notice.

“Okay, Barnes. You got me.”

He let out a laugh before scooting a little closer to lie back too. “Was it worth the three-hour drive?”

“Yeah.” You turned your head to smile at him. “It’s beautiful.”

“Good, because any minute now it’s going to get even better.”

“What do you mean?”

Bucky’s eyes flickered back to the night sky. “Just watch.”

—

It took only ten minutes or so for anything to happen.

The moonless sky with its millions of tiny flickering stars stared back at you while you waited. Those minutes were silent, filled with contemplation. It was you and Bucky against the whole universe and you couldn’t help but feel a little encouraged.

Life could be _so rough_ sometimes. There were days, weeks even, when you would get caught up in your work or bills or repairs or anything, really. You’d spend hours worrying, feeling anxious enough for both you and Bucky for whatever reason on any given day.

Those problems all seemed so small the moment the first meteorite blazed a path of light above you.

And you always thought after every meltdown, after the feelings finally melted away for a brief respite, that maybe Bucky was your anchor. Bucky was the one who helped put everything in perspective when all you wanted to do was give up. Bucky trudged with you through the mud until you felt light on your feet again.

This whole time, Bucky was trying to get you to see the universe for what it was - endless possibilities just waiting for you to look up and notice.

A wave of emotion crashed over you, and you reached over for his hand. You intertwined your fingers with his and watched as more streaks tore across the sky.

“So is this romantic or what?” There was a small smile on his lips; he knew the answer to that already. “I read about this meteor shower weeks ago and I just knew we had to see it.”

You squeezed his hand gently. “Definitely romantic, Buck.”

“Good.”

Bucky pulled away after a minute or so, ignoring your protests as he sat up and rummaged through the picnic basket.

You scoffed. “I was totally about to suggest cuddling. Your loss, mister.”

He muttered something unintelligible as his movements became more frantic.

You sat up too, peering over his arm to try to see what he was doing. “What are you looking for? It’s a bit late to eat, don’t you think?”

“Not food,” he mumbled, yanking the basket closer as if he was shielding it from view.

“No?” It was too dark to see, anyway. “What’s in there then? Wine?”

The telltale sign of glasses clanking together made you think it was either wine or champagne. You were just about to suggest drinking whatever it was before it got warm, but stopped when you saw something tumble to the blanket.

You leaned over, trying to reach for it from where you sat. “Is that what you’re looking for?”

Bucky set the basket aside and grabbed the small square before you could get your hands on it.

“Well, is it?”

“Yeah,” he said, running a hand over his face. He looked nervous again, and as your eyes flitted down to the small box in his grasp, you finally realized why.

“Oh my god,” you whispered, eyes wide. “ _Bucky_ …”

“I didn’t mean for you to find it first,” he groaned, shaking his head. “Dammit! This was going so well!”

You reached out and put a hand on his arm. “Buck, I promise you, nothing is going wrong. Just…just say what you want to say.”

His blue eyes flickered to yours, and he was silent for a beat.

Your heartbeat picked up the pace as you held his gaze.

Then, while light streaked across the sky above you, while fireflies sparkled and crickets sang a love song for you both, Bucky Barnes shifted to a kneeling position in front of you and opened the small box in his hand.

Really, what were three hours compared to forever?


End file.
